I am a toyota man and being a mechanic i would go a 100 straight away. But having worked on both the drive train in the nissan is very strong . You always fit air lockers to the diffs of the toyota to help with traction and deley the breakage in hard core driving. Auto are also good aswell for hill desent you shift in to low and you'll be ok. After selling my luxy soon ill be looking at an 80 glx petrol auto and all the factory mod cons

The 100 series seemed to be too dear for the right vehicle - plus in terms of shear strength the GU seemed to win (the the GQ seems tougher again...) the 100 series - whilst a better engineered vehicle its more engineered towards comfort ride handling etc. but withough the strength to match the setup. So whilst the better design engineering is all good and well - at the end of the day id rather have better strength engineering. Too many people with 100 series suggested i get the GU...

4.2 Litre Turbo diesel series 2 (2001) Manual. Only realy known issue with these is 5th gear spitting it which alledgedly is only the '99 - early '00 models and supposedly only occurs under load whilst on boost in the middle of the torque range when towing or heavily loaded with weight going up hill. Im sure I can live with sub conciously dropping into 4th on those occasions any way...

Id is a little heavier on the diesel than the 4.2 cruiser or the 3.0 'trol but still pretty good for such a large and heavy vehicle. I would like to see 1st gear ratios changed (which there are kits out to do) because its a little close to 2nd for my liking and apparently with bigger tyres you really want to get the gearing up for steep hill climbing with the bigger tyres.Mine has been used to tow a horse float so I'm getting it steam cleaned to get rid of the horrible horse smell, as its also sagging in teh back end from towing. A set of Tough Dog shocks and Lovell (tough dog branded though) springs are going in all round to bring ride high up 2.5" and to give it a better feel (nothing worse than driving a spongy 4x4) I might have to get custom coils made though as I really hate a soft ride.

Toyota doesnt come with LSD rear unfortunately which is why most "hard core" 4x4 guys do both at the same time when fitting ARB air lockers where as the Nissan comes with a rear LSD which is pretty good from the factory so most guys only do fronts and then do rears when the factory LSD packs it in (sometimes never). Not sure if i will go air lockers or just get a soft locker up front...

I did take an auto off road and the steep hill decline wasnt very nice - 1st is to wide as it can make use of the torque converter to take off up hills coming down it spooled to freely even in low range. The cruiser is supposed to be better at this - but it also comes with a price tage to match - especially if i wanted a non independant front end

Not jumping on any band wagon so to speak but just updating a few issues -

- Patrol's have no automatic 4.2ltr turbo diesel GU's- Landcruiser's have LSD , but not as good as the Patrols - Landcruiser front diffs are the same size as the Hilux's but have different internels so they operate a bit different .- Reason why the front diffs are smaller - [apart from cost-cutting across vehicle ranges] all the full time model Landcruisers need a smaller diff [then a GQ/Gu's] to compansate for the power loss of all wheel drive.- IFS 100Series Landcruisers will do appox 95-98% of what most owners will ever want & can be easy made tuffer - eg - lift,diff drop kit etc. A lot of the knockers don't own an IFS vehicle & most don't like to accept change , if your not into compatition 4WDing or just hard core rock crawling - then an IFS 100Series with twin lockers will go just as far as any 2 inch lifted 80Series,100Series [Live axel] ,GQ/GU or Land Rover/Rangie with twin lockers .

In general with the comments in previous posts -Yes Patrols have strong underpinnings , 4.2 diesel is reliable but not a great spark , 3'0ltr Gu have had quite a few piston issues + other things .Landcruisers - yeah could be a bit tougher underneath for some , but great motors & build quality & resale etc .Both vehicles in general very reliable with great aftermarket products for them .

Being involved with 4WD Clubs for a while & try not to be bias with any brand - all I can say is - "Get out there & use them whatever you got

There is no doubting the LCs ability and I agree for most 4x4 drivers IFS will do more than that could ever need.

I do feel that the 105s were a better vehicle than the 100's and I feel that the GU has it over the 100/105 series cruiser in many aspect - but the cruiser has it over the patrol in many aspects. For a start the LC is better finished internally than the GU I/II/III. I think the GU IV/V/VI are on par with the LCs internal finish but a bit late. the 4.2 in the cruiser is a far more refined engine than the TD42 the cruiser V8 however in the new 70series and 200 series has just as many problems - if not more than the ZD30Di the CRD doesnt seem to have any issues yet but all new diesels are going to have some issues due to the emmissions laws. Many of the ZD30Di and CRD guys are getting around these issues using catch cans and blocking of EGR hoses.

The cruiser IMO is a little ugly. admittedly the GU untill series 4 wasnt much better (I own a series 2) but the new LC is bloody aweful.

Off road I feel the Prado is a far more capable vehicle than the cruiser. To this day I dont understand why the cruiser is full time 4x4 (nor do i understand why rangies etc are either) particularly in this day and age where 4x4 can be locked by pressing a dash mounted button!

A good mate of mine has a 100 series solid axle front end after market turbo setup 4.2. This really was the vehicle that reignited my want for a 4x4 and was why originally I was going to get a cruiser. But after driving the cruiser and the patrol back to back I preffer the GU.

Its horses for courses and the GU is my horse!

Happy wheelin'!

A place I'd rather be...Mitchel Road, Bomjinna. Central West Victoria (Jan '08)

We have a 2002 GU 4.2TD ST....apart from the fact it's our 2nd Patrol...we had a 1993 GQ 3Lt Petrol.....the winning features were the price....getting a Cruiser of the same age and Km was adding a rediculous extra to the purchase price...and the other main thing being that Cruisers are constant 4X4....the Patrol is my car (MRS) I do the school runs (4 kids) and local taxi for the kids & friends.... so I'm really only racking up 10-15Km per day around town....and No she's by no way an 'Ascot Taxi'....she goes offroad everytime we camp...

Good choice Komodo....I've seen you on the Nissan forum lately too....our other alias is pinkys6.....just depends if you are talking to the Mr or Mrs...easy to pick....spelling and grammar isn't Mr's forte...LOL

The camera's are mine...the closest he will get is holding the umbrella when it rains.

I remember when the 100Series came out I thought oh no ! , IFS & the shape , well at the time I didn't know what the IFS was like in the REAL WORLD , plus in the city the 100Series looks stupid , but on the Highway's & in country towns - well it suit's the scene [to me & the owners]200Series is the same - but in the flesh & not a picture it's better !

A good thing about the IFS , is after a long stint at the wheel you don't feel tired after the drive , if you hope back into a live axel for a few hours you'll know what I mean . I used to have a live axel [80Series & Patrol , but could never go back -due to the handling on-&-off road !!!!!] I don't understand why people complain about the "AWD -Constant 4WD" , it's there for your safety & better handling !!! ....

It seems when Toyota pulled out 2 of it's V8 Diesels in the "Top End" with issues it had a few people worried & concerned + the internet rumors flew like anything ......... [like they do !] , but it was solved - fuel was the problem , unlike what some people wish it was - No#8 piston .But the V8 Diesel have an on-going issue with the 6-speed auto , it doesn't want to go from 5-to-6 at Highway speed .

A 90 OR 120Series Prado CANNOT match it off-road with a 80/100/GQ/GU or LR Discovery 1/2/3 .That's if all the vehicles are running no diff-locks or traction control to make it even , that said a Prado is overall the best for "most" people looking for a 4WD - Engine ,Fuel capacity ,Seating ,Resale ,General Off-road ,Service & Reliability etc .

I've been down the road of in-direct injection diesels [if Toyota - the 1HZ] & they can't match the factory turbo's of any company for -power & reliabilty etc !!!!!

In my opinon , a 4WD doesn't have to feel like a truck to drive & be as slow as one either , but as the old saying goes - you get what you pay for [I suppose !]

Not starting a war with anyone - but bringing some balance to the question at the start of the thread !!!!!

My favorite type of 4WD's are Troopys & LR Defenders , but they ain't right for my needs at the moment .At the moment - Safety/Comfort/Power/Economy/Off-road/Handling/Build quality/Reliabilty/Resale etc are !

Regards Paul

Last edited by Paul100 on Wed Jan 23, 2008 3:35 am, edited 1 time in total.